Nikolai furrowed his brow. Since he hadn’t been briefed on recent events, he couldn’t follow the conversation.

“What is this ‘spring’ you’re talking about?” he asked.

Vanilla glanced beyond the collapsed dirt.

Route 3 had originally been a dead end blocked by piles of dirt, but upon closer inspection, a hole had been dug near the top, revealing the path beyond.

It meant the dirt blocking the way wasn’t too thick, making it easier to dig through compared to Route 8.

“We don’t know yet. Everyone’s been curious about what the spring is. I should hurry back and report this to Miss Sinclair.”

“And the path to the capital is…?” Nikolai hesitated, glancing at Route 8 with a troubled expression.

“You should focus on clearing the way to the capital. I’ll handle delivering the news,” Vanilla replied.

Nikolai seemed to deliberate for a moment before falling silent.

He cast a dissatisfied look at Vanilla’s injured leg, then shook his head.

“In that case, I’ll return to Happy House. It’s not good for you to overexert yourself with your leg in that condition.”

Vanilla had been about to protest, but the words didn’t leave her lips. Her leg was injured, after all.@@novelbin@@

Having Nikolai go back would indeed save time.

As Vanilla stared at the shovel Nikolai had set down, a thought occurred to her.

“…You’re not avoiding digging, are you?”

“…No, of course not.”

“It was a joke, but you hesitated. Suspicious.”

“It’s not true,” Nikolai insisted.

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